D&RGW Motive Power Chronology, 1941-2002

D&RGW's First Diesel Locomotive

February 1938
Research has found that D&RGW's first diesel-electric was a 900-horsepower end-cab switcher built by American Locomotive Company (later historians have designated this type as an HH900). Built as Alco serial number 69058, with a date of February 18, 1938, the locomotive is shown in Alco data discovered by Ken Douglas. It was Alco order number S1783-006, and was numbered as D&RGW number 101. It was not accepted by D&RGW and ran for a time afterwards as Alco demonstrator number 101. Allen Copeland has a photographic print of the locomotive without any lettering (except a road number) at El Reno, Oklahoma while testing of the Rock Island. On October 6, 1939, the unit was sold to the CRI&P as their number 730. (Information from Allen Copeland via email dated June 6, 2002; builder date from Robert Lehmuth's Alco list)

Chronology

1941(289 total steam on January 1, 1941)(0 total diesel on January 1, 1941)

Steam

(No purchases)

Retired (7)

2

2-8-0

670, 923

4

4-6-0

600, 761, 777, 782

1

4-8-2

1601

Diesel

Added (15)

1

44 ton

38

9

VO-660

66-74

1

NW2

7000 (renumbered to 100)

4

S-2

101-104

(No retirements)

Budd cars M1 and M2 in service as The Prospector, 1941-1945.

1942(282 total steam on January 1, 1942)(15 total diesel on January 1, 1942)

Steam

Added (5)

5

4-6-6-4

3710-3714

Retired (6)

3

0-6-0

51, 52, 54

3

4-6-0

775, 780, 781

Diesel

Added (17)

5

44 ton

39-43

6

FTA

540-542

6

FTB

540-542

(No retirements)

Budd cars M1 and M2 in service as The Prospector, 1941-1945.

1943(281 total steam on January 1, 1943)(32 total diesel on January 1, 1943)

Steam

Added (16)

2

2-6-6-2

3350, 3351 (ex N&W)

6

4-6-6-4

3800-3805 (Union Pacific design)

8

2-8-8-2

3550-3557 (ex N&W)

Retired (5)

5

0-6-0

50, 53, 55, 56, 57

D&RGW's six Challengers were diverted from a UP order by the War Production Board in June 1943. Rio Grande leased them from the WPB until 1947. In the four years between 1943 and 1947, D&RGW regularly been stored these six locomotives because their shop forces found them so difficult to work on. The WPB then sold them to Clinchfield where they continued to operate until 1963, a span of 16 years, far longer than they were on D&RGW. ("Locomotives of the Rio Grande" by the Colorado Railroad Museum, 1980)

Diesel

Added (30)

10

S-2

105-114

10

FTA

543-547

10

FTB

543-547

(No retirements)

Budd cars M1 and M2 in service as The Prospector, 1941-1945.

1944(292 total steam on January 1, 1944)(62 total diesel on January 1, 1944)

Steam

(No purchases)

Retired (11)

2

0-6-0

60, 61

7

2-8-0

633, 1001, 1006, 1010, 1011, 1012, 1013

1

2-8-8-2

3412

1

4-6-0

573

Diesel

Added (21)

5

S-2

115-119

8

FTA

548-551

8

FTB

548-551

(No retirements)

Budd cars M1 and M2 in service as The Prospector, 1941-1945.

1945(281 total steam on January 1, 1945)(83 total diesel on January 1, 1945)

Steam

Added (11)

4

4-8-2

1550-1553 (ex N&W)

7

2-8-8-2

3558-3564 (ex N&W)

Retired (14)

10

2-8-0

681, 688, 930, 931, 933, 934, 1007, 1019, 1027, 1029

4

4-6-0

596, 760, 763, 783

Diesel

(No purchases)

(No retirements)

Budd cars M1 and M2 in service as The Prospector, 1941-1945.

1946(278 total steam on January 1, 1946)(83 total diesel on January 1, 1946)

Steam

(No purchases)

Retired (8)

1

0-8-0T

01

3

2-8-0

932, 1145, 1170

2

2-6-6-2

3305, 3307

1

2-8-8-2

3411

1

4-6-0

776

Diesel

Added (12)

6

F3A

552-554

6

F3B

552-554

(No retirements)

During 1946, the yellow stripes color of the diesel cab unit paint scheme was changed from the previous ochre yellow (Dulux Gold) to the newer yellow color (Duco Imitation Gold). This same change in yellow color took place on the end stripes of the switcher fleet, with the earlier color having been used on the GE 44-ton units, the Baldwin VO-660s, and the Alco S-2s. The later Fairbanks-Morse switchers were delivered with the new yellow color.

D&RGW sold Class C-28 2-8-0 683 to the San Luis Valley Southern Railroad in May 1947. The locomotive was sold to the Colorado Railroad Museum in 1962 and is today preserved at the museum's grounds in Golden, Colorado, as the only example of preserved Rio Grande standard gauge steam locomotives.

1947(270 total steam on January 1, 1947)(95 total diesel on January 1, 1947)

Steam

Added (37)

9

2-8-0

1031-1039

10

2-8-2

1220-1229

16

2-6-6-0

3360-3375

2

4-6-0

795, 796

Retired (29)

8

2-8-0

683, 1015, 1131, 1141, 1147, 1150, 1152, 1158

1

2-6-6-0

3362

1

2-6-6-2

3304

10

2-8-8-2

3415, 3502, 3505, 3507, 3550, 3557, 3559, 3560, 3561, 3564

3

4-6-0

583, 788, 789

6

4-6-6-4

3800, 3801, 3802, 3803, 3804, 3805

Diesel

Added (6)

4

PA

600, 601

2

PB

600, 601

(No retirements)

1948(278 total steam on January 1, 1948)(101 total diesel on January 1, 1948)

Steam

(No purchases)

Retired (27)

6

2-8-0

1000, 1032, 1038, 1135, 1164, 1172

4

2-8-2

1203, 1206, 1211, 1223

3

2-8-8-2

3402, 3556, 3563

7

4-6-0

762, 765, 765, 771, 776, 795, 796

7

4-8-2

1550, 1551, 1552, 1553, 1604, 1608, 1609

Diesel

Added (11)

4

H10-44

120-123

3

H15-44

150-152

2

F7A (F5A)

556

2

F7B (F5B)

556

(No retirements)

1949(251 total steam on January 1, 1949)(112 total diesel on January 1, 1949)

Steam

(No purchases)

Retired (34)

8

2-8-0

1016, 1028, 1149, 1155, 1162, 1176, 1181, 1187

2

2-8-2

1210, 1221

6

2-6-6-0

3360, 3363, 3364, 3365, 3372, 3374

6

2-8-8-2

3509, 3551, 3553, 3554, 3555, 3558

2

4-6-0

779, 785

2

4-6-2

802, 805

8

4-8-2

1524, 1525, 1600, 1602, 1603, 1605, 1606, 1607

Diesel

Added (36)

4

F7A (F5A)

555, 557

4

F7B (F5B)

555, 557

14

F7A

558-564

14

F7B

558-564

Retired (2)

2

44 ton

39, 43

1950(217 total steam on January 1, 1950)(146 total diesel on January 1, 1950)

Steam

(No purchases)

Retired (29)

5

2-8-0

1033, 1133, 1165, 1188, 1190

2

2-8-2

1204, 1212

3

2-6-6-0

3367, 3368, 3373

4

2-6-6-2

3300, 3301, 3303, 3351

10

2-8-8-2

3401, 3403, 3406, 3407, 3410, 3413, 3414, 3503, 3506, 3552

1

4-6-2

803

2

4-8-2

1505, 1530

2

4-8-4

1707, 1708

Diesel

Added (24)

4

GP7

5101, 5102, 5103, 5104 (1st)

10

F7A

5651, 5654, 5661, 5664, 5671, 5674, 5681, 5684, 5691, 5694

10

F7B

5652, 5653, 5662, 5663, 5672, 5673, 5682, 5683, 5692, 5693

(No retirements)

All cab unit locomotives renumbered in January to April 1950, from single three-digit number for each four unit locomotive, to a four digit number for each unit, with a 1 or 4 added as fourth digit on A units and a 2 or a 3 added as fourth digit on B units, i.e., the F7 A-B-B-A set numbered as 564ABCD became 5641, 5642, 5643, and 5644. The Alco passenger units, originally numbered as 600ABC and 601ABC, were changed to 6001-6003 and 6011-6013.

1951(188 total steam on January 1, 1951)(170 total diesel on January 1, 1950)

Steam

(No purchases)

Retired (33)

7

2-8-0

605, 634, 1031, 1036, 1037, 1039, 1168

5

2-6-6-0

3366, 3369, 3370, 3371, 3375

1

2-6-6-2

3306

9

2-8-8-2

3404, 3405, 3408, 3409, 3500, 3501, 3504, 3508, 3562

3

4-6-0

574, 635, 773

8

4-6-6-4

3701, 3702, 3704, 3705, 3706, 3707, 3709, 3714

Diesel

Added (5)

5

RS-3

5200-5204

(No retirements)

The new Aspen Gold (also known as Grande Gold), silver, and four black stripe paint scheme on cab units was adopted in early 1951.

Salt Lake City, Utah, locomotive shops were closed in June 1951. All heavy overhauls on both steam locomotives and diesel locomotives were moved to Denver shops.

GP7 5104 (1st) was renumbered to 5100 during November 1951.

1952(155 total steam on January 1, 1952)(175 total diesel on January 1, 1952)

1953(125 total steam on January 1, 1953)(211 total diesel on January 1, 1953)

Steam

(No purchases)

Retired (12)

2

2-8-0

1182, 1183

2

2-8-2

1220, 1227

2

4-6-2

801, 804

4

4-8-2

1506, 1513, 1517, 1521

2

4-8-4

1801, 1802

Diesel

Added (5)

5

SD7

5300-5304

Retired (1)

1

VO-660

68

Rebuilt (3)

1

Yard Slug

25 (rebuilt from VO-660 68)

2

SteamGenerator Car

250, 251 (rebuilt from retired steam locomotive tenders)

1954(113 total steam on January 1, 1954)(215 total diesel on January 1, 1954)

Steam

(No purchases)

Retired (19)

7

2-8-0

1154, 1160, 1171, 1186, 1191, 1193, 1197

2

2-8-2

1200, 1222

1

2-10-2

1404

1

4-6-6-4

3713

4

4-8-2

1501, 1504, 1516, 1518

4

4-8-4

1702, 1705, 1800, 1804

Diesel

(No purchases)

Retired (2)

2

44 ton

40, 41

During May 1954, due to a downturn in traffic levels, D&RGW reportedly had only three steam locomotives in operation: two 2-8-0s switching in Salt Lake City, Utah, and a single 2-8-0 in local service in Alamosa, Colorado. In June 1954, the last 12 steam locomotives were transferred from the Salt Lake Division (Ogden to Helper, Utah), with number 3610, a 2-8-8-2, being the last steam locomotive in operation on the Salt Lake Division, as it moved under its own power to be used in helper service at Minturn, on the west slope of Tennessee Pass. At year's end, there were a total of 36 steam locomotives reported in operation, most during the August to December time period, and most in switching and helper service on the Pueblo Division (east of Bond, Colorado, on the Moffat Line, and Salida, Colorado, on the Royal Gorge Line).

1955(94 total steam on January 1, 1955)(213 total diesel on January 1, 1955)

Diesel

During 1955, the use of steam was further reduced to 30 locomotives, assigned to peak season switching and helper service.

F7B 5762 (1st) renumbered to 5753 (2nd) during November 1955.

F9B 5753 (1st) renumbered to 5762 (2nd) during November 1955.

1956(46 total steam on January 1, 1956)(231 total diesel on January 1, 1956)

Last of steam: During 1956, the use of steam was further reduced, with just 18 locomotives reported in operation. The last D&RGW standard gauge steam locomotive, a Class C-48 2-8-0, number 1151, operated on December 26, 1956. The scrapping of number 1151 began the next day. By year end, all remaining standard gauge steam locomotives had been retired and scrapped. No standard gauge steam locomotives were preserved by the railroad.

D&RGW's SD7s, SD9s, and GP9s were first stored during the traffic slowdown of 1982. Most remained in storage until retirement, except small numbers of GP9s that were reactivated in 1983 for special, non-revenue trains, including GP9s 5924, 5944, and 5954, which were assigned to work train service. Many GP9s, SD7s and SD9s were reactivated during 1989, following the SP merger, for local and transfer work in the Denver and Pueblo areas. (Pacific Rail News, Issue 306, May 1989, page 35; Pacific Rail News, Issue 307, June 1989, page 31; Pacific Rail News, Issue 308, July 1989, page 17)

1983(280 total on January 1, 1983)

Added (25)

23

GP40

3131-3153 (ex CR)

2

GP40-2

3129, 3130

(No retirements)

On January 28, 1983, the first D&RGW train operated into Kansas City, Kansas, using trackage rights over former Missouri Pacific lines from Pueblo, Colorado, to Kansas City, Kansas, granted as provision of UP-MP-WP merger of December 1982. Additional motive power, in the form of former Conrail GP40s, were first leased, then purchased, to support this expansion of operations.

N&W SD50s 6503 and 6504 tested on D&RGW during late July and early August 1983. (Pacific News, Issue 247, December 1983, page 23)

All first generation power (GP9, SD7, SD9, except 5305) stored at the end of October 1984, following the delivery of 17 new SD50s during the first week of October. (CTC Board, December 1984, page 3)

By mid January 1985, due to a downturn in business, there were 96 locomotives in storage, including the GP9s, SD7s, SD9s (except 5305), the GP35s, the B-units GP30s, and the lower numbered GP40s. (CTC Board, February 1985, page 42)

1985(314 total on January 1, 1985)

(No purchases)

(No retirements)

By August 1985, traffic levels on D&RGW had declined. All of the first generation power was stored, including the F9s, SD7s, SD9s, and GP9s, along with the GP35s and most of the SD45s. Operating units included most of the GP30s, most of the GP40s, the GP40-2s, the SD40T-2s and the new SD50s. (Pacific Rail News, Issue 262, September 1985, page 26)

Several SD45s returned to service during October and November 1987. (Pacific Rail News, Issue 291, February 1988, page 12)

1988(314 total on January 1, 1988)

(No purchases)

(No retirements)

Rio Grande Industries, parent company of D&RGW railroad, takes control of Southern Pacific Transportation Co., on October 13, 1988. Purchase approved by ICC on August 9, 1988.

Seventy stored D&RGW units were leased to SP in July 1988, including all GP35s (22 units), all SD45s (26 units), and 22 of the 25 B-unit GP40s. Other units in storage (GP9s, SD9s, SD7s, and GP30s) were to be reactivated for service on D&RGW. (CTC Board, July 1988, page 4)

All GP35s (22 units), SD45s (26 units), and B-unit GP30s (eight units) were removed from storage in October 1988 and sent for service to SP territory. Many operated into former D&RGW territory during normal operations. (Pacific Rail News, Issue 305, April 1989, page 37)

The GP35s and B-unit GP30s were returned to storage during October 1991. The SD45s were still in operation. (Pacific Rail News, Issue 336, November 1991, page 17)

Union Pacific took control of Rio Grande Industries (including Southern Pacific and D&RGW railroad subsidiaries) on September 11, 1996.

Former D&RGW SD45s 5319, 5327, 5337, and 5338, rebuilt to SP SD40M-2 8678, 8680, 8682, 8684 during 1994, came to UP as part of the UP-SP merger (not included in remaining total).

1997(175 total on January 1, 1997)

(No purchases)

Retired (14)

1

SW1200

134

2

GP30

3007, 3008

8

GP40

3059, 3061, 3066, 3081, 3139, 3147, 3152, 3153

3

SD45

5323, 5326, 5328

Denver & Rio Grande Western Railroad was formally merged with Union Pacific Railroad on June 1, 1997. All equipment ownership and equipment leases and trusts assumed by UP, along with DRGW reporting marks.